The Lady Bulldogs basketball team will travel to Waco, Texas, tonight and open the regular season against the Baylor Universtiy Bears.
Baylor finished last season as the National Invitational Tournament runner-up and will return a good portion of last year’s squad.
During the preseason the Bulldogs saw injuries withhold starting guards Doceide Warren and Tan White from action in two exhibition games. Seneca Anderson, Blessing Chekwa, Rebecca Kates and Mamie McKinney saw limited minutes because of injuries.
According to head coach Sharon Fanning, everyone practiced Wednesday and looks ready to take the floor Friday night.
“We hope they all see minutes,” said Fanning. “The keys are getting them limited minutes at the right times and keeping them stretched during the game.”
Baylor returns its top seven scorers from last year and the Bears have gotten point production from freshmen Monique Jones and Emily Niemann. In their two exhibition games the Bears went 2-0 and averaged 82 points a game.
“They have a great deal of experience and some new players that are contributing,” said Fanning. “They are a really good basketball team.”
Baylor has good size on the inside and on the perimeter. They will most likely start two players at 6feet 2 inches at forward and at least one guard over six feet tall.
Fanning said the Bulldogs must stay focused on their game plan and execute well on both ends of the court.
The Dawgs will focus on passing and quality shot selection on the offensive end of the court. During the preseason the Lady Dawgs struggled with shot selection. The addition of Warren and White to the floor will add more offensive weapons and on-court leadership.
On the other end of the court the Bulldogs must stay focused and contain Baylor’s transition game. To overcome the size deficit the Bulldogs must double team when the ball gets into the post and block out after every shot.
MSU will not only rely on rebounding and double teams but also quickness in the transition game to cage the Bears.
“We have to stay focused on strategy and executing and making the extra pass on offense,” said Fanning.
After the Baylor game, the Bulldogs will spend Thanksgiving in the Virgin Islands along with Indiana, Iowa State and Virginia Tech at the Paradise Jam Tournament. State opens its home schedule with Detroit on Dec. 4.